Quali/quantitative research on herbal supplements containing black elder (Sambucus nigra L.) fruits

Abstract

Black elder (Sambucus nigra L.), rich in phenolics, is used as antiviral, especially to treat common cold andflu. The flower of black elder has been approved by German Commission E and ESCOP for its mentioned usage, and inseveral pharmacopoeias, its qualification parameters were described. However, its fruits with a similar use as theflowers have not been considered by the pharmacopoeias. Even so, the number of black elder fruit supplementsmarketing with different brands is increasing steadily. This study aimed to evaluate the availability and concentrationsof marker components (chlorogenic acid, rutin, and isoquercitrin) in herbal supplements containing black elder fruitscomparatively with the reference plant material by high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) and avalidated high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) techniques. Additionally, the total anthocyanin amountwas calculated by spectrophotometry in these samples, and the results were expressed as equivalents of cyanidin-3-Oglucoside(C3G). HPTLC fingerprints showed that most of the marketed products did not contain rutin, chlorogenicacid and isoquercitrin. Moreover, their fingerprint comparison with the reference was found to be different. The highestchlorogenic acid, rutin and isoquercitrin amounts were found as 0.742 mg/effervescent tablet (E3), 1.445 mg/capsule(C1), and 0.082 mg/capsule (C1), respectively by HPLC. According to the total anthocyanin content, C1 was determinedto have the highest anthocyanin content as 8.705 mg C3G/capsule, whereas E6 was found to have the lowestanthocyanin content as 0.024 mg C3G/effervescent tablet. Consequently, there is an urgent need to establishstandardization parameters for black elder fruits.